India calls for immediate halt to West Asia violence

NEW DELHI: India on Monday condemned the recent upsurge in violence in the Gaza Strip and has called for an immediate end to the unrest in the region.

India "remains concerned at the adverse effects of the closure of access points into the (Gaza) Strip on the prevailing humanitarian situation," External Affairs Ministry spokesman Vishnu Prakash said here.

Israel had blocked shipments of EU-funded fuel supplies to Gaza in response to a surge in rocket attacks by Palestinian militants on the country's southern communities.

"The Government of India urges an immediate end to violence, hopes that peace will be restored urgently and that immediate steps will be taken to ensure that basic humanitarian principles are observed," Prakash said.

There can be no justification for the denial of essential supplies including food and fuel to the civilian population of the Gaza Strip numbering over seven lakh people, he said.

Prakash also hoped that the situation will not be allowed to aggravate further.